VLB future series part3 I'm The Least You Could Do
by OriginalPippie
Summary: This is the second sequel actually more of a prequel to The Kids Are Alright. This focuses on Raab, Dunn and their families. Takes place two years before TKAA.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

April 14, 2021  
9:17 PM

Dunn pulled away from Raab's embrace and looked away almost shamefully. Raab looked at him with a stunned confusion and then dropped his hands into his lap.

"What's the matter?" Raab asked  
Dunn shook his head "I can't do this." He looked at him "We both shouldn't be doing this. It's wrong."  
"You said yourself, before I ever said anything, that you couldn't help feeling some kind of attraction towards me."  
"Yeah I know what I said. But I never actually thought we'd be sitting here about to… to _kiss_ each other. What are we thinking any way? We're both married, and to incredible woman I might add, and what would our children think? This could really mess them up."  
"You worry a lot."  
"Maybe so. But maybe you don't worry enough."  
"It was your idea to do this, now you're backing out?"  
"Well I don't know what I was thinking when I came up with this ridiculous idea."

April 16, 2021  
Dunn household- 6:45 AM

Brianne groaned softly and buried her head beneath her pillow, clutching it tightly in her hands. She grumbled to herself and closed her eyes as she tried to block out the sounds coming from her parents' bedroom.

"My God, do they have to do it so early in the morning? And with their fourteen year old daughter trying to sleep down the hall? Those two need to grow up."

She sighed and cringed before throwing her pillow to the floor and flinging the covers off of her. She walked across her room over to her stereo and then turned it on to drown out her parents before crawling back in bed.

"I swear if they keep this up, I'm moving out."

Raab household- 6:45 AM

"Hey Chris?" Lilly called out  
"What?" both father and daughter answered  
"Oh sorry, Christene." Lilly chuckled "I was calling dad."  
"Oh ok."  
Raab went into the bathroom where his wife was "Yeah?"  
"Chris this drawer is stuck again and the toilet is still making that noise. Could you fix it?"  
"What am I? The repair man?"  
"Chris please. I would try to un-stick the drawer but I'm running late for work. You don't have to try to fix the toilet but you could at least fix the drawer."  
"Alright."  
"Thank you." She kissed him "Oh one more thing, make sure Christene gets ready for school on time."  
He motioned towards Christene's room "She's up."  
"Yes, and lying in bed still. So much like her father."  
Raab rolled his eyes and grinned "Ok I'll get her ready for school on time." He kissed her "Now get out of here."  
She kissed him back "You're so cute. Part of why I married you. But I have to go." She kissed him again "I'll see you this afternoon." She said before leaving

Lilly walked to Christene's bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Yo!" Came Christene's voice from inside  
"Christene I'm leaving for work. You get to school on time ok?"  
"Yeah."  
"Bye Christene."  
"Later."  
"Mind your father."  
"Uh-huh."  
Lilly turned toward the bathroom "Chris make sure she's on time!"  
"Uh-huh!"  
"Bye Chris!"  
"Later!"  
Lilly grinned and walked down the hall "Those two I swear…"

Dunn household- 8:01 AM

Dunn and December sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast. They smiled at each other, held hands, picked on each other playfully. Dunn even made December blush "in that cure way" a few times and she managed to coax out what Dunn insisted wasn't "giggles". They were acting just like they did when they first started dating.

Brianne shuffled into the kitchen wiping sleep from her eyes. She looked up right as her parents were in the middle of a smooch.

"Ick…" Brianne rolled her eyes "How old are you two? And you're acting like that?"  
"What? I can't kiss your mother?"  
"That's not the problem, dad. The way you and mom have been acting lately, it's like you're… _my_ age. It's sick."  
"Good morning to you too, Bree." December said "Why don't you get your breakfast and never mind dad and me?"

Brianne grumbled and picked out some cereal. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the table, trying not to pay attention to her parents' teenage-like behavior.

Dunn glanced up at the clock "Bree shouldn't you be in school?"  
"It's Wednesday, dad."  
"Yeah I know, but aren't you late?"  
"You know I go in later on Wednesdays."  
"Oh yeah. So never mind then." He looked at December and gave her a kiss, causing Brianne to roll her eyes

Raab household- 8:01 AM

Raab finished cooking breakfast and began setting the table. He poured juice in one glass, causing it to overflow onto the table. Mumbling to himself he quickly grabbed a towel to clean up the juice.

"Yo Christene!"  
"What?"  
"Breakfast is ready!"

Christene walked downstairs and entered the kitchen. She looked up at the table and froze.

"What's the matter?" Raab asked  
"You set the table."  
"Yeah? So?"  
"You hardly ever set the table."  
"I hardly ever get to eat breakfast with my daughter." He fixed his plate "Now take a seat by your old dad."  
Christene grinned and went up to the table and then sat down. She fixed her plate and began to eat. After a few bites she looked at Raab.  
"This is nice for a change."  
He looked at her and sipped his juice "You think so?"  
"Yeah. We don't spend a lot of time together just the two of us." She held up her fork with some food on it "And your cooking has improved quite a bit." She took a bite  
Raab grinned "I do what I can."  
"No really, this is good. I haven't died yet." She grinned  
"Oh come on. My cooking was never _that_ bad."  
"So what's been going on with you and mom lately?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well it just seems like you two have been acting different towards each other."  
"Like how?"  
"I don't know how to explain it. Just that, well ok, you and mom don't seem as affectionate towards each other as you used to be. And the most I hear mom say to you lately is just like things she wants you to do around the house."  
"Well your mom's been really busy at work, trying to get her promotion. And I'm at home all the time so I'm the one who's able to do certain things around the home when she's at work."  
"Oh yeah. But what about the other thing?"  
"We're still affectionate."  
"Not that I've noticed."  
"Don't worry about it. We don't have to be affectionate with each other all the time. The love is always going to be there."  
"Yeah I guess."  
Raab glanced at the clock "You probably should be leaving soon."  
"Uh-huh."

Christene finished eating and then got up to put her dishes in the sink. She walked over to Raab and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks for the breakfast, Dad."  
"You're welcome. Just don't die, I don't want to get blamed for it."  
She snickered "Don't worry, Dad. I'm not planning on dieing." She grinned and walked away

Dunn household- 7:58 PM

It had been raining hard for about two hours. The rain clouds wee so dark that they gave an illusion of a night sky. Dunn, unable to relax or keep his mind occupied on any thing, sat in his chair in the living room casting an almost nervous or anxious appearance to his wife and daughter. He shook his crossed leg, tapped his fingers on the table and sometimes picked up a magazine and quickly thumbed through it before putting it back down.

"Baby what's the matter?" December asked as she placed a hand on his leg to steady it  
He looked at her "Huh?"  
"You just been acting really nervous about something. Are you ok? Is something on your mind?"  
"I'm fine I just…" He stood up "I need to find something to do. I think I'm going to go for a walk."  
"A walk? Ryan it's pouring out there."  
"Uh, yeah I don't care." He kissed her on the cheek "I'll be back in a little bit. If you need anything I'll have my cell on me."  
"Um ok…"

Dunn, without saying anything more, left the house to walk in the rain. He had no idea where he was going. All he knew was he had to find some way to clear his mind.

Raab household- 7:58 PM

Raab turned away from Lilly and peered out of the window. He sighed and shook his head.

"Lil, you're twisting my words again. I never said that it was ok for Christene to go to that senior party. I don't want her going there without some kind of chaperone there. How does that mean that I'm allowing her to go?"  
"Would you still want our fourteen year old daughter around seventeen and eighteen year olds with no parents there? Who knows what could happen to her. There could be drinking there and smoking, and God knows what drugs or whatever else that teens could be into that they shouldn't be doing. You'd still let her go?"  
"No! There's no way I'd let her go to that party. If she was having a party for her friends here, when we were going to be home and able to keep an eye on every one, if she was at a party at a house where we knew and trusted the parents that were going to be there, then that would be different."  
"So you _would_ still let her go?"  
"I don't know why we're having this argument right now! It's ridiculous!" Raab sighed and groaned "I have to get out of here for a while. I'll be back."  
"Chris! Don't leave! We're discussing something!"

Raab walked out of the house and into the pouring rain.

8:05 PM

The rain came pouring down in a steady rhythm. Cars splashed through puddles of water that had formed on the road. Hardly anyone, of those who were outside, were not riding safely in vehicles. But most of the pedestrians were wielding umbrellas, and some were near by their home and just went outside for a second.

Dunn pulled the hood of his rain-soaked sweatshirt up over his drenched blonde hair. His jeans had clung to his legs from the wetness, causing them to feel heavy. He held his head down much of the time as he walked, so he was unaware of anyone else who might have been around him.

A short ways down the sidewalk, coming from the opposite direction, was an equally wet Raab. He too kept his gaze down ground-ward as he walked casually in the rain. Without looking up he bumped into another walker unrepentantly.

"I'm so sorry I…" He looked up "Dunn what are you doing out here?"  
"I'm wondering the same thing about you." He drew his sweatshirt closer to him as if it would have some effect on protecting him from the rain.  
"I had to get out of the house for a while to clear my head."  
"In the rain?"  
"Yeah well… what are you doing out here?"  
"I had to do something so I went for a walk."  
"In the rain?" Raab asked, imitating Dunn's previous tone with a smirk  
Dunn grinned a little "Yeah I guess."  
"I'm actually glad I ran into you, Dunn."  
"You are?"  
"Yeah. I haven't been able to stop thinking about the other night."  
Dunn let out a slight sigh "Me either."  
"What were we thinking?"  
"I don't know."

Raab looked down at his shoes and glanced up towards him a little; just giving him a peek on his blue eyes. A piece of Raab's wet hair fell into his face and water dripped from it. Dunn reached out and brushed the hair out of Raab's face. Raab grinned a little and looked into Dunn's eyes.

"Thanks."  
"No problem."

Raab stepped closer to Dunn and looked deeper into his eyes. Dunn looked back into Raab's eyes and a soft smile ran across his lips.

"There's something about you right now that's so irresistible, Raab."  
Raab's grin broadened "Like what?"  
"I can't explain it. I… just…"

Dunn placed a hand on the side of Raab's face, gently pulling him closer. He leaned in and pressed his lips on Raab's lips. They looked at each other for a moment, all kinds of thoughts and emotions rushing through them, and then went back into a longer, deeper kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

_Note: Crackedcameralens Christene and Screenname Brianne._

April 26, 2021

3:30 AM

Dunn's fingers brushed through Raab's tousled hair as he vigorously kissed Raab's bare neck. Raab panted and his eyes rolled back some. He closed his eyes and felt Dunn move down lower, kissing and sucking his chest. He ran his hands down Dunn's back, trying to find a spot to grip. Dunn's hand slipped down to just above Raab's waist and rested there. His fingers lightly teased Raab by grazing his skin just a little lower.

Raab tried to sit up some to make more room for him and Dunn both in the car's cramped backset. Dunn decided to make things a little easier for both of them by moving down to the floor upon his knees in front of the seat. He placed his hand just below Raab's crotch, softly stroking the growing arousal, causing it to grow harder. Raab let out a slight groan and lightly bit his lower lip. Dunn smirked and brushed Raab's hair back away from his face before leaning down to kiss him. His hand wrapped around Raab's warm hardness and began to slowly stroke it up and down.

"Dunn…" Raab groaned

"Call me by my first name." Dunn whispered

Raab nodded and closed his eyes as he felt Dunn stroke him faster. When he felt Dunn's thumb rubbing the head in a circular motion, this caused him to shiver and his lip to quiver. A louder groan broke past his lips and his nails dug into Dunn's skin.

"Ryan…" He groaned once more

Dunn kissed him with great passion and then went back to stroking him like he was before.

After a little while both men, panting and sweaty, lied there as best and as comfortably as they could. Once they both had regained a steady breath the peered into each others blue eyes. Dunn gave Raab a small peck on the lips and sat up. Raab pulled himself into sitting position and then reached down for his clothes.

"We've got to stop doing this." He said softly

Dunn nodded and then pulled on his shirt "I know. But it'll be so hard."

"I know it would be. But what if our wives found out?"

Dunn sighed and ran a hand through his hair "You have no idea how often I worry about that."

April 27, 2021

Dunn household- 10:05 AM

December wrung her hands anxiously as she walked back into the bathroom. It was hard for her not to peek at the timer but she couldn't help it. Dunn followed her into the bathroom and placed his arms around her waist from behind.

"Is it time yet?" He asked before lightly kissing her neck

"Two more minutes." She replied after looking at the timer

"Why does this always seem to take so long?"

"Because we're waiting for it. And things that you're waiting for always take a long time. It's just in the rules."

"Yeah well who made those rules?"

"Probably the same people who make condoms that don't work." She grinned and kissed him

"Hey if that condom worked we wouldn't have Brianne. And we didn't even use a condom this time."

"Yes I know." She kissed him again "And I'm so grateful that we used a faulty condom those almost fifteen years ago.

"Me too. Is it time yet?"

"Be patient Ryan. You're acting like a kid waiting for Christmas morning."

"It feels like Christmas morning."

She grinned and looked at the timer. The timer went off right after she looked at it. Dunn pulled away from December and the two of them looked at the pregnancy test on the bathroom counter. December squealed in delight and wrapped her arms around him.

"It's positive!" She beamed

Dunn gave her a kiss and looked at her, beaming as well "We're having a baby!"

He picked her up and kissed her again before carrying her to their bedroom.

Raab household- 10:05 AM

Raab paced the floor back and fourth. He looked down and shook his head. He could feel his nerves acting up all through his body. Lilly went up to him and placed her hand on his shoulders, topping him in his tracks.

"Chris you're pacing so much that you're wearing a track in the floor."

"Sorry, but I can't help it." He sighed "I've never been more nervous over anything in my life."

"I know honey, but please try to relax."

"This can't be happening, Lil."

"Stop worrying so much, Chris. You know we'll be able to deal with it no matter what the outcome."

He nodded "Yeah I know. But still, we don't need this right now."

The timer went off in the bathroom. Lilly took a breath and went into the bathroom and shut off the timer. Raab entered the bathroom shortly behind her and stood next to her with a hand around her back. Lilly nervously looked at the pregnancy test that sat on the counter in front of them. Raab had his eyes closed, too nervous to look. Lilly placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it a little.

"Chris it's ok. Look."

He opened his eyes and looked at the test "Negative." He sighed in relief

"Yeah." She grinned "Now we don't have to worry about having a baby unless we're sure it's the right time."

"I know."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he hugged her tight.

"Thank God." He said softly

"Yeah."

Instant message conversation- 4:32 PM

Crackedcameralens: Yo

Screenname: Hey

Crackedcameralens: What's up?

Screenname: Nothing. You?

Crackedcameralens: Just thinking about doing some homework.

Screenname: I thought about that too a few minutes ago. But the thought gave me a headache. So I stopped thinking about it.

Crackedcameralens: lol

Screenname:D

Crackedcameralens: I'm so excited that it's the weekend!

Screenname: Yippee… /sarcasm

Crackedcameralens: What's the matter Bree?

Screenname: sigh It's my parents. They gave me some oh so lovely news when I came home from school.

Crackedcameralens: What was the news? Or should I ask?

Screenname: Well it turns out that my mom is pregnant.

Crackedcameralens: That's great! You're going to be a big sister!

Screenname: Whatever. I guess that part is cool. But…

Crackedcameralens: But what?

Screenname: I don't know. It's almost as though this baby is to cover up something else.

Crackedcameralens: What do you mean?

Screenname: I don't know what I mean. But I feel like something's up.

Crackedcameralens: What could possibly be going on that your parents would use a baby to hide it from everyone?

Screenname: I don't know. But I don't feel like talking about it any more.

Crackedcameralens: Ok fair enough.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

April 29, 2021

6:15 PM

Raab moved away from Dunn and looked away sadly. Dunn reached over and placed a hand beneath Raab's chin, turning Raab's face back towards him.

"Hey… don't be like this."

"Well you might as well be breaking it off with me right now."

"You now this couldn't last forever. We shouldn't have ever done this at all."

Raab looked away again "So you iare/i breaking it off. I'm sorry I ever wasted any time with you."

Raab stood up and started to leave. Dunn grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Wait." Raab looked at him "I don't want you to leave. Please sit down and we can talk about this."

"Alright." Raab sat down on the bed "We'll talk about how you're having a baby and how we can't be together like this any more."

Dunn sighed "Please don't say that. We can still be together."

"How? You're going to be home taking care of the new baby and you'll forget all about what we have."

"Look I know it will be hard for us to be together once the baby is born. But we can still work something out where we can still be together."

"You're the one who said we shouldn't have been together in the first place. Now you was us to try to stay together? I don't think you even know what you want. So until you do figure it out," he kissed him lightly "I'm going to be at home with my family."

Raab started to walk out of the hotel room. Dunn stood up and went over to him.

"But wait!"

Raab turned around to face him "But wait what?"

"I… I really…"

"You really what?"

"I really… care about you."

"Really? How much?"

"A lot."

"I care about you too. But I still think you should figure out exactly what you want before we do anything else."

Dunn looked down at the floor and nodded his head slightly. He looked at Raab again and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. He then gazed into Raab's eyes for a couple seconds before he planted a kiss on his lips.

May 1, 2021

3:00 PM

December lay on the examining table with his shirt up past her stomach as Dunn sat next to her in a chair holding her hand. The doctor moved the scanner pad across her stomach and looked at the image on the screen.

"Everything's looking good so far."

"It's so small." Dunn said with a slight grin

December looked at him, grinning as well "Well how big were you expecting it to be at a few weeks along?"

"I don't know… about that big I guess." He shrugged "But look at it! That's our baby." He smiled proudly

She looked at the screen and smiled "Yeah. Even though we've been through this before, seeing this baby for the first time… well it's really exciting."

Dunn leaned over and gave her a kiss "I know."

Raab household- 3:00 PM

Raab stared at Lilly in disbelief. She sat there on the couch next to him, waiting for him to give her some kind of reply. It appeared as though thoughts were running through his mind, and that he was searching for the one he would use first.

"You want us to get them a present for their baby?"

"Yeah what's wrong with that?"

"Well for one thing, the baby doesn't even have a face yet."

"Well so? They're our friends. We should do something nice for them. They would do the same for us."

"Yeah I guess."

"So do you want to help me pick out a present? It wouldn't have to be much. Just something to show our congratulations."

"Yeah sure."

"Well don't sound so excited about it, Chris." She joked

He grinned a little and looked at her "I just can't contain my excitement."

Telephone conversation- 5:07 PM

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Ryan? What are you calling for?"

"I missed you and I had to hear your voice."

"You missed me? You mean you had time to think about something other than your baby?"

Dunn sighed "Please don't be like that. I know I've had my mind on the baby a lot, but who can blame me? You would be the same way and you know it. But, just because I'm thinking a lot about the baby doesn't mean that I haven't thought about you at all. I actually think about you a lot more that any one would realize. I can't help but think about you."

"Are you serious?" Raab asked with a grin

"Yeah of course."

Raab smiled and played with a loose string on the rug in front of him "I miss you too."

Dunn ran his fingers through his beard "Really?"

"Yeah."

"How much?"

"A lot."

"We have to find a way to cure this."

"Yes we should."

"I want to see you."

"You want to meet at our usual place?" Raab asked

"I can't really think of any where else we should go where no one would see us."

"Yeah that's true."

"When should we meet?"

"How's this weekend work for you?"

"I'm actually free this weekend."

"Great."

Dunn grinned "So I'll be seeing Mr. Johnson in room 132 then."

"Yes of course, Mr. Peterson." Raab drug out the words 'Mr. Peterson' with a sexy tone

Dunn laughed "Ok so this weekend… will that be Saturday or Sunday?"

"How about Saturday?"

"Fine. I'll see you then."

"Can't wait."

They both hung up, grinning broadly.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

May 5, 2021

9:45 pm

Dunn hovered above Raab gazing deeply into his eyes, and smiled. His hands were planted firmly on either side of Raab on the bed. Raab looked up at him, smiling from ear to ear, and let out a slight snicker.

"What?" Dunn asked with a grin

"Nothing. I'm just happy."

Dunn smiled and kissed him. He placed one hand behind Raab's head and ran his fingers lightly through his hair. His other hand moved and ran down Raab's side, lightly resting on his outer thigh. Their lips touched, warmly caressing each other. Dunn's hand inched over and then is finger tips very softly rested on Raab's thigh, so softly that they almost weren't touching Raab's skin.

Raab wrapped his hands around Dunn's neck, lacing his fingers together, and pulled him down further. Dunn rested nicely on top of him as they kissed. Raab felt Dunn's hand that remained on top of his thigh move up smoothly and then stop in place right next to his crotch. Dunn's finger tips grazed Raab's penis, causing it to jerk and Raab to shiver. Dunn smirked and then kissed him as he slowly wrapped his fingers around the hardening appendage. He kissed Raab again before moving over to suck his neck.

The passion between them grew as their kissing became more and more heated. They rubbed, groped, pressed, kissed, panted, caressed, and stroked with great intense fervor. Dunn firmly grabbed hold of Raab's hips, pulling his legs apart. Even though he wasted no time in entering him, he took care in how gentle he was so not to cause pain in Raab. A moan, a groan, a grunt. They moved in a steady slow pace. The sheets were firmly gripped between fingers as the speed increased. A louder groan made its escape from Raab's throat as Dunn pounded a little deeper. Sweat began to run down their hot naked bodies and the groans grew louder. The pounding slowed and then ceased as Dunn came inside if Raab. Dunn pulled out limp and the two of them collapsed, sweaty and panting, onto the bed.

May 7, 2021

Dunn household- 8:00 PM

"So Ryan," December said as she filled the dishwasher with dirty dishes "What were you and Chris doing Saturday? You never told me."

"Um, we went fishing."

"Fishing?" She placed a plate in the rack "You two have been making a habit of that."

"Yeah well it gives us something to do together."

She picked up a glass and tipped it upside down. Her eyes squinted a little, looking at the glass, and then she scraped the inside of it with her nail to get a piece of what looked to be dried on powdered chocolate from some chocolate milk.

"The two of you keep going fishing and yet you never come home with any fish."

"Well it's not really about catching fish, Cember. We talk and drink and stuff."

"What do you talk about?" She placed the glass in the dishwasher

"Lots of stuff."

"Like?"

"I don't know. Family stuff or whatever. What's with all the questions?"

"Why are you getting all defensive all of the sudden?"

"I'm not being defensive."

"Oh really?"

Dunn sighed "Cember, why are you so curious about the fishing trips?"

"Because," She closed the dishwasher 'You never tell me anything about them."

"That's because there's nothing to tell."

Raab household- 8:00 pm

Raab sat on the edge of the bed with his hands folded in his lap. He glanced at his watch and then up at Lilly who was busy fastening an earring by the mirror. She was dressed in a knee-length burgundy halter dress and her hair was pulled up into a fancy bun. Raab, who sat somewhat uncomfortably in his dark gray slacks and matching jacket, grinned a little at the corner of his mouth as he watched his wife continue getting ready for dinner. He adored how beautiful she had always looked without even trying. Lilly looked in the mirror while smoothing out her dress and smiled at the reflected image of her husband on the bed behind her.

"What?" She asked, still smiling

"Nothing. You just look nice."

"You don't look half bad yourself."

"Nah." He waved her off jokingly

Lilly went over to the bed and 0placed her hands on either side of Raab's face. She smiled softly and then bent down closer to give him a kiss. He allowed the kiss to linger as he reached behind her to pinch her butt. She twitched and let out a small giggle.

"Chris."

He shrugged with an innocent smile "What?"

"You're sneaky."

"I know."

She kissed him again and then went over to the closet. She opened the closet and pulled out two pairs of red shoes; one with a tall heel and the other were flats. She sat the shoes on the floor before her and looked down at them and her bare feet.

"Chris what do you think would go better with this dress?"

Raab mentally groaned because he hated making clothing decisions, especially when they involved shoes. He looked down at the shoes and pretended to study them carefully.

"I don't know. Either is fine."

"Which ones?" She asked before slipping on a shoe. She turned her foot to model the shoe "These?" She slipped on a shoe on the other foot and did the same thing "Or how about these?"

"Lil you know I'm no good at this kind of stuff."

"Ugh forget it then."

Lilly slipped both shoes off and then looked at both pairs at her feet.

"I don't know what the big deal is, just pick a pair and put them on so we can go."

Lilly sighed and then looked at her shoes and bare feet. She then slipped on one of the pairs of shoes.

"Ready to go now?" Raab asked

"I'm sorry for taking so long."

Raab stood up and walked up to her. He placed his hands on her hips from behind and put his chin on her shoulder.

"That's alright. It's worth the wait." He kissed her on the neck "You're beautiful."

She smiled with a slightly redder tint in her cheeks "You're sweet."

"I know." He pulled away from her and went to the door "Now let's go before we're late."

Instant message conversation- 8:45 pm

Screenname: So your parents are out on a date?

Crackedcameralens: Yup. Have the house to myself for once.

Screenname: I wish my parents would go on a date or something.

Crackedcameralens: Why?

Screenname: So I can have this house to myself.

Crackedcameralens: lol maybe we could convince our parents to go on a double date sometime.

Screenname: lol yeah. And that way the two of us could hang out together for a while.

Crackedcameralens: We see each other everyday, Bree.

Screenname: Yeah in school.

Crackedcameralens: and after school and on the weekends.

Screenname: Only when we're not buried beneath mountains of homework that's about 100935720054998113 miles high.

Crackedcameralens: lol true.

Screenname: I heard my parents talking a little bit ago.

Crackedcameralens: What about?

Screenname: My mom was asking my dad about the fishing trips he goes on with your dad.

Crackedcameralens: …

Screenname: What?

Crackedcameralens: My dad doesn't go on fishing trips.

Screenname: Of course he does. With my dad, all the time.

Crackedcameralens: Um… no he doesn't.

Screenname: Well that's what my dad has been telling my mom.

Crackedcameralens: Why would he tell her that?

Screenname: How should I know?

Crackedcameralens: Do you think your dad is hiding something?

Screenname: Um… the way he was talking to my mom about it did kind of sound like he could have been hiding something…

Crackedcameralens: Wait Bree… didn't you say not that long ago that it seemed like the baby your parents are having might be a way to cover something else up?

Screenname: … yeah…

Crackedcameralens: Do you think this might be connected to that?

Screenname: Well I do now!

Screenname: Shit

Screenname: Shit

Screenname: Shit

Screenname: Shit

Screenname: Shit

Crackedcameralens: Bree…

Screenname: Shit

Screenname: Shit

Crackedcameralens: Bree calm down.

Screenname: Shit

Screenname: Shit

Screenname: Shit

Screenname: (sigh) sorry.

Crackedcameralens: Brianne you ok?

Screenname: Maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions but I have a bad feeling.

Crackedcameralens: Obviously. What's your feeling?

Screenname: I think my dad might be cheating on my mom.

Crackedcameralens: OO … fuck.

Screenname: Mmmhmm…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

May 9, 2021

8:50 PM

Once they pulled apart from the kiss they looked into each other's eyes. They did not smile lovingly like they usually did after a kiss like that. Their eyes didn't sparkle like they usually would have done after a kiss like that. In fact they both looked sad, scared, and somewhat depressed. They both sighed and looked away from each other. There wasn't any feeling behind the kiss they had just shared and they both knew why. They knew their families were catching on to their affair which meant that the affair had to come to an end.

As much as they wanted to continue being together they knew that it had to end. As much as they wanted to continue being together they were beginning to have trouble feeling the passion and excitement that they felt before. They were beginning to feel dirty. The bad kind of dirty. The kind of dirty that made them want to scrub themselves with scalding water after having been together. Sneaking around and lying just to be together used to give them a rush. It used to excite them. But now the sneaking and the lying made them feel wrong. It made them feel guilty.

"Chris…" Dunn said softly while looking down "I…"

Raab nodded "I think I know what you're thinking."

He sighed "What do we do?"

"I don't know."

They looked down for a moment. It seemed to be silent in the room for a lot longer than what it really was. The silence was almost painful. The two of them didn't even look at one another the whole time.

"I think it's over." Dunn said softly

"Yeah…"

"I really don't want it to be. But…"

Raab nodded "I know…"

The two of them sighed and looked at each other before they stood up. They walked over to the door together and paused. Raab shoved his hands in is pockets as if to look for his car keys and Dunn looked down at his shoes. Raab was about to open the door when Dunn reached out in front of him.

"What is it?" Asked Raab

Dunn didn't say anything as he looked at Raab. He wrapped his arms around Raab, pulling him close to his body. Raab hesitated before he returned the tight embrace.

May 10, 2021

Dunn household- 9:30 AM

December was in the kitchen making breakfast and setting the table. She looked up from the table when she saw Dunn enter the room. He stood near the entrance looking like he had not gotten any sleep the night before.

"Well you look like hell." She sat a plate on the table

"Good morning to you too, dear."

Dunn shuffled over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. He walked over to the table with his coffee and sat down, barely looking at her. She put breakfast on the table and looked at him.

"What's the matter, Ryan? Didn't you sleep at all?"

"No."

"You got in pretty late, didn't you?"

He took a sip of his coffee "Mmmhmm…"

December went over to the kitchen entrance and looked towards the stairs.

"Brianne! Breakfast is ready!"

"I'll be down in a minute!"

December went back over to the table and sat down by Dunn.

"So where did you go last night? You were gone for a while."

"I went for a walk."

"A walk? But your car was gone."

"Um yeah. I went for a drive I meant."

"Hmm…"

"What?"

"Well it seems like you don't even remember what you did last night."

"Give me a break, Cember. I haven't slept."

"Alright."

Dunn put food on his plate and sleepily began to eat. He looked up at December and saw that she as watching him.

"What?"

"Oh nothing. Just wondering what you could be keeping from me."

He looked away and sighed, partly offended "Where would you even get that?"

"Ryan you have to think I'm very stupid."

"What!"

"Where did you go last night?"

"I told you. I went for a drive."

"You started out saying that you went for a walk." She paused and took a bite of food "So where did you go last night?"

"What's with the questions?"

"Why can't you just answer me?"

Dunn looked away and sighed. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could get any words out, Brianne came into the kitchen and sat at the table. She fixed herself a plate of food and began to eat. As she ate she studied her parents.

"Were you two having a fight?" She asked as she took a bite

"We were discussing something."

"Ok. Should I ask what you were discussing?"

"No." Dunn stood up and walked away from the table

Raab household- 9:30 AM

Raab and Lilly stood in their room yelling at each other. They had been arguing for about an hour. Raab had accidentally let a couple little things slip out when he was asked about the night before, and that had started the argument.

Not far down the hall, Christene sat in her room in the bed. She had her stereo on, blasting one of her loudest CDs. She hoped that it would drown out the sound of her parents fighting but it wasn't working. Normally she wasn't quite as bothered by the sound of her parents fighting, but this argument seemed to be the worst one they ever had. It didn't take long for Christene to figure out what the fight was about. She had realized that by the sound of things, her dad had been cheating on her mom. This made her remember one of the last times she and Brianne were IM-ing each other. Brianne had told her that she thought her dad had been cheating. Suddenly, while thinking about that conversation, it dawned on Christene.

"Holy shit…"

She got up and ran to her computer. Then she brought up a blank e-mail document and began to type frantically.

_Bree I have no idea what to do right now. All I know is I'm definitely going to have to talk to you some time today. My parents are fighting right now and you won't believe why. This fight is much worse than the others and it really scares me. My dad has been cheating on my mom and I think I know who it is that he's been cheating with. Please as soon as you get this give me a call. Otherwise I'll call you. Shit this can't be happening._

_-- Christene_


End file.
